Automatic Analysis Device

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an automatic analysis device and an automatic specimen processing system having a component-rack supply mechanism that, in a state where a plurality of component racks each having a disposable component mounted thereon are stacked, separates only a component rack at the leading stage of the stack from the other component racks, and supplies the separated component rack to the automatic analysis device or the automatic specimen processing system. Specifically, the automatic analysis device and the automatic specimen processing system have a supply mechanism including a separation mechanism that, in a state where a plurality of component racks are stacked, separates only a component rack at the leading stage of the stack from the other component racks, where the separation mechanism includes a movable mechanism having a pair of downward-movement prevention members that can separate the leading stage from the second stage of the stacked component racks; and a correction mechanism having a pair of correction members that correct a positional deviation of the component racks in order to avoid an influence of the positional deviation of the stacked component racks.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an automatic analysis device used forchemical analysis such as biochemical analysis or immunological analysisin clinical tests, or the like, and to a specimen processing system thatautomatically processes specimens such as blood, urine or the like whenthe specimens are tested in a laboratory.

BACKGROUND ART

For the purpose of prevention of contamination between samples, adisposable component (hereinafter referred as a “consumable item”) maybe used for a nozzle tip making contact with a sample, a reactioncontainer and the like.

Patent Literature 1 discloses an automatic analysis device that usesdisposable components such as a nozzle tip, a reaction container and/orthe like to perform assays on samples, in which supply of an unusedcomponent rack supplying unused components and collection of a usedcomponent rack can be provided by a compact hardware configuration.Specifically, component racks holding unused components are moved upwardfrom a maximum lowered position to a rack separation station by a supplyelevator, and only the component rack at the uppermost stage of thestacked component rack is separated to stay on the rack separationstation. The component rack thus separated is moved to a componentretrieval station where the components on the component rack are removedone after another by a movable grasping unit. After the component hasbeen consumed, the floor of the component take-out state is opened todrop the used component rack onto an elevator platform of a collectionelevator for collection.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent No. 4454904

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

In the component-rack supply mechanism disclosed in Patent Literature 1,only the component rack located at the uppermost stage is separated fromthe remaining component racks by the separation mechanism having clawsto grip a part of the consumable-item rack. However, if the componentracks are stacked up in too many stages, a column of the stackedcomponent racks may tilt relative to the stacking direction, apositional deviation possibly occurs. Further, if the symmetry of thecomponent-rack separation mechanism and the stacked component racks isnot maintained, a positional deviation may also occur. Once a positionaldeviation occurs, the claws of the separation mechanism cannot laterallyequally grip and hold the component rack, so that the uppermostcomponent rack may possibly not be separated or may possibly fall, andin turn consumable items such as a nozzle tip, a reaction container andthe like cannot be supplied to the device, leading to a risk of causinglosses of specimen samples for use in analysis and specimen processingdue to a delay or stop of analysis results.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide anautomatic specimen processing system and an automatic analysis deviceincluding a component-rack separation mechanism capable of separatingonly the uppermost component rack from the other component racks withstability to be supplied to an analysis unit without being affected by apositional deviation of the stacked component racks.

Solution to Problem

Features of the present invention in the light of the above problemswill be described as follows. Specifically, an automatic analysisdevice, which is equipped with a consumable-item supply device to supplya consumable-item rack having an upper side on which consumable itemsare held and flanges provided in a lower place, includes: a platformthat is capable of holding a plurality of the consumable-item racks in astate in which the consumable-item racks are stacked; a driving unitthat moves, in a vertical direction, the platform holding theconsumable-item racks in a horizontal position; a controller thatcontrols operation of the driving unit; and a pair of separationmechanisms that are placed to be spaced at a certain distance apart in ahorizontal direction, the pair of separation mechanisms separating anuppermost consumable-item rack from the consumable-item racks which arestacked, wherein each one of the pair of separation mechanisms has asupport portion that is movable and abuts on the underside of one of theflanges to support a consumable rack, and a correction portion that isstationary and abuts on a side face of the flange to correct a positionof the consumable-item rack.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide anautomatic specimen processing system and an automatic analysis deviceincluding a component-rack separation mechanism capable of separatingonly the uppermost component rack from the other component racks withstability to be supplied to an analysis unit without being affected by apositional deviation of the stacked component racks. The above and otherobjects, features and advantageous effects will be more apparent fromthe following descriptions of embodiments in accordance with the presentinvention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view illustrating each configuration in an automaticanalysis device.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating each configuration in aconsumable-item supply device placed in an elevator chamber.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of acomponent-rack separation mechanism section in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of aseparation mechanism in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows sectional views describing the operation of the separationmechanism in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view illustrating the state of the component-rackseparation mechanism section in which no component rack exists.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view illustrating a state of supplying thecomponent racks to the component-rack separation mechanism section.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view illustrating a state before separation of theuppermost component rack.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view illustrating a state after separation of theuppermost component rack.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention will now bedescribed with reference to the drawings. Incidentally, the same signsare used throughout the figures to designate the same members, and arepetitive description is omitted appropriately.

The following description is given with reference to the drawings inaccordance with embodiments to which the present invention is applied. Adescription is given using an example of use in an automatic analysisdevice as an embodiment. The automatic analysis device makes contactwith samples to perform dispensing, and then advances the sampleanalysis manipulations using disposable components (hereinafter referredto as “consumable items”) replaced for each sample. Use of a nozzle tipand a reaction container as consumable items is described in thisexample, but both the components are not necessarily used, one of themmay be used. Also, any consumable item other than the nozzle tip and thereaction container may be configured to be used. The consumable itemsare two-dimensionally held on component racks, and set and suppliedwhile the component racks are stacked on top of one another on anelevator platform.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a top view of the automatic analysisdevice in accordance with the present invention. The automatic analysisdevice is an apparatus that is capable of using various reagents toprocess and measure biological samples such as blood plasma, bloodserum, urine and the like, in order to obtain useful measurementinformation regarding a wide range of analysis items such as abiochemical analysis item, an immunological analysis item, a geneticanalysis item and the like. For example, in an immunological analysis orthe like, magnetic particles, a labeled antibody containing a labeledsubstance, and an antibody coupling the magnetic particles to an analyteare mixed into a sample including the analyte to cause anantigen-antibody reaction. Then, a resultant product with the analyte,the magnetic particles and the labeled substance being coupled togetheris captured by magnetic separation means, and then the capturedresultant product is applied with a voltage to measure the amount oflight emitted for quantification of the analyte. Also, in an automaticspecimen processing system, the dispensing process is automaticallyperformed on a biological sample, such as blood plasma, blood serum,urine or the like, of a specimen of each of patients brought together ina laboratory such that the biological sample is subdivided by a volumecommensurate with test details, so that the efficiency of the steps ofspecimen process of arriving at the automatic analysis device isenabled.

Each constituent mechanism of the automatic analysis device 1 isoperationally controlled by a controller 2. The automatic analysisdevice 1 has: a specimen-rack transfer system having a specimen entranceunit 3, a specimen transfer line 4 and a specimen storage unit 5; ananalysis measurement system having a reaction disk 6, a reagent disk 7and a measurement unit 8; and a consumable-item handling system having aconsumable-item supply device 9 and a component transporter 10. A sampleto be analyzed and measured is contained in a sample container 11, and aplurality of sample containers 11 is loaded on each specimen rack 12. Aplurality of sample containers (or equivalently a single samplecontainer) is held on a single specimen rack 12. The sample to beanalyzed and measured by the automatic analysis device 1 is a biologicalsample such as blood plasma, blood serum, urine or the like. Informationabout a sample in the sample container 11 and request information aboutanalysis items are pre-input through an input unit of the controller.Analysis conditions of each analysis item are stored in the controller2.

A specimen identifying information medium such as a barcode is attachedto an outer wall of each sample container 11, and a carrier identifyinginformation medium such as a barcode is attached to each specimen rack12. The above medium is not limited to a barcode, and may be, forexample, a RFID tag, an IC chip or a two-dimensional barcode. Thespecimen rack 12 with the specimen container(s) loaded thereon is set inthe specimen entrance unit 3 by a human operator. The specimen entranceunit 3 is connected at one time to the specimen transfer line 4, andejects and delivers the specimen rack 12 toward the specimen transferline on a step-by-step basis.

The specimen transfer line 4, which has received the specimen rack 12,transfers the specimen rack to a sample extraction position S. It isnoted that the method for moving the specimen rack may include, but notlimited to, driving a conveying belt, moving of a rack transferring armor the like. Before being transferred to the sample extraction position,the carrier identifying information on each specimen rack and thespecimen identifying information on each sample container are read by anidentifying information reading instrument (not shown) such as a barcodereader, and the read information is communicated to the controller 2.The controller 2 controls, based on the read information, the operationsof a specimen sampling mechanism 13, the reagent disk 7, a reagentdispensing mechanism 14, the reaction disk 6, the measurement unit 8 andthe like. The specimen rack 12, which has undergone the sampleextraction process at the sample extraction position S, is transferredto and stored in the specimen storage unit 5 by the specimen transferline 4.

In the consumable-item handling system, the consumable-item supplydevice 9 supplies a nozzle tip 29 and a reaction container 30 used toavoid the carry over or contamination between samples. The consumableitems are moved within the consumable-item supply device 9 while beingheld on a component rack 15 in two-dimensional (array) manner. Thecomponent transporter 10 catches and removes one of the consumable-itemreaction containers from the component rack 15 located at aconsumable-item retrieval mechanism section B, and then the componenttransporter 10 places it onto the reaction disk 6. Then, the componenttransporter 10 catches and removes one of the consumable-item nozzletips from the same component rack, and then places it on a tip insertionposition 16. A tip coupling nozzle of the specimen sampling mechanism 13couples the nozzle tip at the tip insertion position 16. After that, thespecimen sampling mechanism 13 performs the sample extraction operation.

The consumable-item supply device 9 includes a component-rack separationmechanism section A and the consumable-item retrieval mechanism sectionB. As described later, a supply elevator platform 17 for unusedcomponent racks 15 is placed under the component-rack separationmechanism section A. A collection elevator platform 18 for usedcomponent racks 15 is placed under the consumable-item retrievalmechanism section B.

The configuration of the consumable-item supply device 9 will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 2.

The consumable-item supply device 9 is equipped with the component-rackseparation mechanism section A, the consumable-item retrieval mechanismsection B and a component-rack disposal mechanism section. A supplyelevator 19 is placed under the component-rack separation mechanismsection A, and a collection elevator 20 is placed under theconsumable-item retrieval mechanism section B. Both the elevators 19, 20are housed in a rack elevator room 21 (see FIG. 1) of theconsumable-item supply device 9. Further, the elevators are installed ona movable mount 22. Thereby, after pulling the mount 22 in its entiretyout of the rack elevator room 21 (see FIG. 1) toward the front, the usercan load a new component rack 15 onto the supply elevator platform 17,and further remove a used component rack 15 from the collection platform18. At the back of the rack elevator room 21 (see FIG. 1), two removablewaste component collection boxes 24 a, 24 b are placed to be locatedunder a component disposal position 23 in FIG. 1. The mount 22 pulledout is pushed back into place, so that the elevators 19, 20 aremaintained in places where the platforms can be raised/lowered aspreviously.

The component-rack separation mechanism section A located above the racksupply portion of the consumable-item supply device 9 includes aseparation mechanism 25, a rack transfer device 26, a rack positioningdevice 27, a floor open/close device 28, and the like. Multiplecomponent racks stacked up are moved upward toward the component-rackdisposal mechanism section by the supply elevator 19, and the separationmechanism 25 separates and holds only the uppermost component rack 15 ofthe stacked, multiple component racks from the other component racks 15such that the uppermost component rack 15 remains in the component-rackdisposal mechanism section. The rack transfer device 26 moves thecomponent rack 15, which has been located at the uppermost stage andseparated from the other component racks by a descent of the elevatorplatform 17, from the component-rack separation mechanism section Atoward the consumable-item retrieval mechanism section B. The rackpositioning device 27 presses a plurality of portions of the componentrack delivered to the consumable-item retrieval mechanism section B inorder to effect positioning such that the pertinent component rack ismaintained in position. The floor open/close device 28 opens a floorportion (a reclosable member) on which the component rack is placed inthe consumable-item retrieval mechanism section B, when the collectionelevator platform 18 receives the component rack from the componentretrieval station, and after that the floor open/close device 28 closesthe floor portion.

The component rack and the configuration of the component-rackseparation mechanism section A in the consumable-item supply device 9will now be described with reference to FIG. 3.

The component-rack separation mechanism section A has a pair of theseparation mechanisms 25 placed on the both sides of the component rack15. The separation mechanisms 25 are bilaterally symmetrical and haveboth the sides similarly structured. The separation mechanisms 25 areintended for the separation between the uppermost component rack of thestacked component racks 15 and the second and subsequent componentracks.

A side wall of the component rack 15 has an inclined surface taperingtoward an upper edge 41 such that a lower edge 42 is formed to be longerthan the upper edge 41 on which the components are placed, and thesection is trapezoidal. The inside of the side walls is hollow and thereis no bottom wall formed in a lower portion, so that the component rack15 has a box shape by which the component racks 15 are easily stacked ontop of one another.

The component rack 15 has the upper edges 41 forming an approximatequadrangle, and has two-dimensional array of holes capable of beingloaded with a number of consumable items, each component which is aconsumable item being inserted into each hole. The single component rack15 in an embodiment can be loaded with a plurality of consumable-itemnozzle tips 29 and a plurality of consumable-item reaction containers30. In the instance illustrated in FIG. 3, the component rack 15 isloaded with the nozzle tips 29 and the reaction containers 30 in equalnumbers.

Flanges 31 a, 31 b each having predetermined width and length formedrespectively at lower ends of at least two opposite side walls of thecomponent rack 15. A pair of the flanges 31 a, 31 b serves to facilitateseparation between the component racks by being supported at theundersides by support portions 32 a, 32 b of the separation mechanisms25 which will be described later. Further, if a positional deviationwith respect to the stacking direction of the component racks 15 or apositional deviation due to the asymmetry between the separationmechanism and the component racks has occurred, the flanges 31 a, 31 babut on correction portions 35 a, 35 b of the separation mechanism inorder to serve to correct the positional deviation. In the embodiment,the flanges 31 a, 31 b each having a predetermined width and apredetermined length are used, but as long as the structure is tofacilitate separation between the component racks by abutting on movablemechanisms 33 a, 33 b having downward-movement prevention members of theseparation mechanisms which will be described later, any structure toabut on the downward-movement prevention for engagement, such as a holeor the like, may equally be used.

The configuration of the separation mechanism 25 in accordance with thepresent invention will now be described with reference to FIG. 4 andFIG. 5.

The separation mechanism 25 has the movable unit 33 a and a correctionmechanism 34 a, in which the movable unit 33 a has a pair of supportportions (downward-movement prevention members) 32 a which are spacedapart to fit the width of the component rack, and the correctionmechanism 34 a is intended for the correction for position of thecomponent rack 15, and has a pair of correction portions (correctionplates) 35 a which are spaced apart to fit the width of the componentrack. The movable mechanisms 33 a and the correction mechanisms 34 a arearranged in respective pairs in the direction along the flange 31 a ofthe component rack 15, and in alternate position. It is noted that themovable mechanisms 33 a and the correction mechanisms 34 a may notnecessarily be arranged in alternate position. For example, a movablemechanism 33 a and a correction mechanism 34 a may be arranged.

A pair of the movable mechanisms 33 a having the support portions 32 ais mounted on rotational shafts 36 a such that the movable mechanisms 33a are parallel to each other in the lateral direction. The movablemechanism 33 a has the support portion 32 a and a stopper 40 a which areformed by bending a relatively thin metal (e.g., stainless steel). Also,the movable mechanism 33 a is more or less elasticity because it isformed of thin metal.

An elastic body 39 a is, for example, a torsion spring, and is placed incontact with the movable mechanism 33 a to press the movable mechanism33 a such that a pair of movable mechanisms 33 a placed side by sideprojects toward the magazine. The stopper 40 a comes into contact with afixed end 37 or a plate piece secured to the fixed end 37 to lock theposition of the movable mechanism 33 a such that the top surface of thesupport portion 32 a reaches an optimal position to hold the flangedescribed later. Because of this, the movable mechanism 33 a can rotateabout the axis of the rotational shaft 36 a by the fixed end 37 of themovable mechanism 33 a and a movable end by the support portion 32 a(see FIGS. 5(a), 5(b)). In the state in FIG. 5(a), the top surface ofthe support portion 32 a comes into contact with the flange 31 a, sothat the component rack having the flange in question is maintained onthe support portion 32 a. In the state in FIG. 5(b), the support portion32 a retracts, so that the component rack can move in the verticaldirection without being engaged with the support portion 32 a.

Similarly to the movable mechanism 33 a, the correction mechanisms 34 ahaving the correction portions 35 a are attached to be parallel in thelateral direction. Because the correction mechanisms 34 a are coupled tothe fixed end 37, motion such as a rotating movement and/or the like isnot produced, the spacing between the correction portions 35 a of a pairof the separation mechanisms 25 is fixed to fit the width of thecomponent rack.

The operation of the separation mechanism will now be described withreference to FIG. 6 to FIG. 9.

FIG. 6 illustrates the state in which any component rack does not existin the component-rack separation mechanism section A. Because the upperends of the support portions 32 a, 32 b abut on the stoppers 40 a, 40 b,a distance L2 between the leading ends of a pair of shelfs 38 a, 38 b isset to be shorter than a distance L between the leading ends of a pairof the flanges 31 a, 31 b of the component rack 15, and also thedistance L2 is set to be longer than a distance L3 of the width of thecomponent rack 15 except for the flanges 31 a, 31 b.

Further, a pair of the correction mechanisms 34 a, 34 b is coupled tothe fixed ends 37, between which the distance is fixed at a certaindistance L1 equal to or slightly longer than the width of the componentrack. Specifically, in the state in which the upper ends of the supportportions 32 a, 32 b abut on the stoppers 40 a, 40 b (the instance inFIG. 5(a) and FIG. 6), the correction mechanisms 34 a, 34 b are locatedat a certain distance from each other which is equal to the distance L1between the upper ends of the shelfs 38 a, 38 b and longer than thedistance L between the leading ends of the pair of the flanges 31 a, 31b of the component rack 15.

FIG. 7 illustrates the state in which the stacked component racks 15holding the unused consumable items 29, 30 have been raised by thesupply elevator platform 17. Incidentally, in the following, assume thata plurality of component racks is stacked, such as the component racks15 a, 15 b, 15 c, . . . arranged in the order from top. When theuppermost component rack 15 a is raised to pass through between the pairof the shelves 32 a, 32 b, the flanges 31 a, 31 b abut on the side facesof the support portions 32 a, 32 b and push and rotate the movable units33 a, 33 b. In other words, the force exerted by the supply elevator 19to rise the component racks 15 a acts to push the support portions 32 a,32 b outward against the force of the elastic bodies 39 a, 39 b actingon the shelves to project them.

As a result, the support portions 32 a, 32 b is pushed to widen thespacing between them, so that the distance between the leading ends ofthe pair of the support portions 32 a, 32 b reaches a width L2′ (=L)which is the same as that between the flanges 31 a, 31 b abutting on thesupport portions 32 a, 32 b. Further, because the shelves 38 a, 38 brotate integrally with the support portions 32 a, 32 b about therotational shafts 36 a, 36 b, a distance L1′ between the upper ends ofthe shelves 38 a, 38 b reaches a longer distance L1′(>L1>L) than thedistance L between the leading ends of the pair of the flanges 31 a, 31b of the component rack 15 when any component rack does not exist in thecomponent-rack separation mechanism section A (FIG. 6).

It is noted that, even if a positional deviation or distortion hasoccurred on the stacked component racks, the positional deviation ordistortion can be corrected by the correction portions 35 a, 35 b cominginto contact with the side faces of the flanges 31 a, 31 b. Accordingly,if a positional deviation occurs on the multiple component racks 15 astacked up, and therefore only one of the flanges of the component rack15 a comes into contact with the support portion 32 a, 32 b, this maymake a pair of the movable mechanisms 33 a, 33 b unable to rotateuniformly, and, as a consequence of this, the uppermost component rackmay possibly not be separated with reliability, the component rack maypossibly fall, or/and the like. However, these things can be prevented.

FIG. 8 illustrates the state in which the supply elevator platform 17 ismoved further upward and the flanges 31 a, 31 b of the uppermostcomponent rack 15 a has passed through the support portions 32 a, 32 b.By ceasing of the contact between the shelves and the flanges of thecomponent rack 15 a which open up the space between the support portions32 a, 32 b, the shelves are pushed again by the elastic bodies 39 a, 39b, so that the distance L2′(=L2<L) between the leading ends of the pairof the shelves 38 a, 39 b is reached.

In this case, the uppermost component rack 15 a is held on the supportportions 32, but the flanges of the second and subsequent componentracks 15 b in the order from top are out of contact with the supportportions 32 a, 32 b. Therefore, the movable mechanisms 33 a, 33 b aremaintained in the closing state. In this state, the presence of thecorrection mechanisms 34 a, 34 b also becomes important. Where thecorrection mechanisms 34 a, 34 b are not in existence, in the state inwhich the movable mechanisms 33 a, 33 b are maintained in the closingstate and a positional deviation occurs on the stacked component racks,the flanges 31 a, 31 b of the component rack 15 a may possibly come, ataround the piece, into contact with positions above the support portions32 a, 32 b, and the rotatable, movable mechanisms 33 a, 33 b maypossibly push the downward-movement prevention members 32 a, 32 b towiden the space between them as an unintended state. Then, it isconjectured that, in subsequent operation, uniform contact with thecomponent rack is not made impossible. For this reason, providing thecorrection mechanisms 34 a, 34 b contributes to a reduction inpositional deviation because of abutting on the flanges 31 a, 31 b ofthe uppermost component rack 15, and to uniform contact between thesupport portions 32 a, 32 b and the component rack which is ensued.

FIG. 9 illustrates the state in which the supply elevator platform 17 ismoved downward. In this state, because the distance L2 between theleading ends of the pair of the support portions 32 a, 32 b is shorterthan the distance L between the leading ends of the flanges 31 a, 31 bof the component rack 15 a (L2<L), the component rack 15 a is not ableto be moved downward as the supply elevator platform 17 is moveddownward. On the other hand, the component racks 15 b, 15 c, . . . andthe like which are located downward of the support portions 32 a, 32 bare moved downward by self-weight in accordance with the descentmovement of the supply elevator platform 17. As a result, the uppermostcomponent rack 15 a reaches a state of its flanges 31 a, 31 b beingplaced on the shelves 38 a, 38 b, and also the positional deviation ofthe component rack 15 is minimized by the correction portions 35 a, 35b, so that the uniform contact between the shelves 38 a, 38 b and theflanges 31 a, 31 b of the component rack can be achieved to prevent theuppermost component rack 15 a from being moved downward. As a result,the stable separation between the uppermost component rack 15 a and theother component racks 15 b, 15 c, . . . is achieved.

It is noted that, although the automatic analysis device has beendescribed in the embodiment, in terms of using component racks andsupplying consumable items prohibited from reuse, a consumable-itemsupply device mounted on an automatic specimen processing system can beachieved by similar configuration.

According to the present invention, even if a positional deviation iscaused by stacking conditions of the multiple stacked component racks,the asymmetry between the separation mechanism and the component racks,and/or the like, only the component rack at the leading stage can bestably separated from the other component racks to be supplied towithout being affected by the positional deviation. And therefore,contributions to stable analysis capability and operation performanceare made possible.

Further, typically, because so-called consumable items on the componentracks are supplied to an apparatus body by a human operator (user or thelike), depending on how the component racks are stacked, position isvariable in the stacked direction giving rise to a need to consider therisk of workload when component racks are stacked and supplied. However,in the present invention, because it is possible to minimize apositional deviation caused by stacking conditions of the multiplestacked component racks, the asymmetry between the separation mechanismand the component racks, and/or the like, this makes it possible toreduce the risk of workload of the user in the stacking and supplyingprocess.

Further, the contents of the present invention is applicable to astructure to perform the operation of separation between the leadingstage and the second stage of what being stacked without respect to thecomponent racks, and the structure for containers and/or the like havingone or more pair of engaging portions, such as flanges, holes or thelike, used for the separation, and general versatility in installationto the automatic analysis device and the automatic specimen processingsystem may be involved.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   1 . . . Automatic analysis device-   2 . . . Controller-   3 . . . Specimen entrance unit-   4 . . . Specimen transfer line-   5 . . . Specimen storage unit-   6 . . . Reaction disk-   7 . . . Reagent disk-   8 . . . Measurement unit-   9 . . . Consumable-item supply device-   10 . . . Component transporter-   11 . . . Sample container-   12 . . . Specimen rack-   13 . . . Specimen sampling mechanism-   14 . . . Reagent dispensing mechanism-   15, 15 a, 15 b, 15 c . . . Component rack-   16 . . . Tip insertion position-   17, 18 . . . Platform-   19, 20 . . . Elevator-   21 . . . Rack elevator room-   22 . . . Mount-   23 . . . Component disposal position-   24 . . . Waste component collection box-   25 . . . Separation mechanism-   26 . . . Rack transfer device-   27 . . . Rack positioning device-   28 . . . Floor open/close device-   29 . . . Nozzle tip-   30 . . . Reaction container-   31 a, 31 b . . . Flange-   32 a, 32 b . . . Support portion-   33 a, 33 b . . . Movable mechanism-   34 a, 34 b . . . Correction mechanism-   35 a, 35 b . . . Correction portion-   36 a, 36 b . . . Rotational shaft-   37 . . . Fixed end-   38 a, 38 b . . . Shelf-   39 a, 39 b . . . Elastic body-   40 a, 40 b . . . Stopper-   A . . . Component-rack separation mechanism section-   B . . . Consumable-item retrieval mechanism section-   S . . . Sample extraction position

1. An automatic analysis device equipped with a consumable-item supplydevice to supply a consumable-item rack which has an upper side on whichconsumable items are held and has flanges provided in a lower place,comprising: a platform that is capable of holding a plurality of theconsumable-item racks in a state in which the consumable-item racks arestacked; a driving unit that moves, in a vertical direction, theplatform holding the consumable-item racks in a horizontal position; acontroller that controls operation of the driving unit; and a pair ofseparation mechanisms that are placed to be spaced at a certain distanceapart in a horizontal direction, the pair of separation mechanismsseparating an uppermost consumable-item rack from the consumable-itemracks which are stacked, wherein each one of the pair of separationmechanisms has a support portion that is movable and abuts on theunderside of one of the flanges to support a consumable rack, and acorrection portion that is stationary and abuts on a side face of theflange to correct a position of the consumable-item rack.
 2. Theautomatic analysis device according to claim 1, wherein the controllermoves upward the platform a first distance, and then moves downward theplatform a second distance which is shorter than the first distance,such that the flanges of an uppermost consumable-item rack arepositioned above the support portions and also the flanges of aconsumable-item rack located directly below the uppermostconsumable-item rack are positioned below the support portions.
 3. Theautomatic analysis device according to claim 1, wherein the supportportion and the correction portion are placed in alternate positions. 4.The automatic analysis device according to claim 1, wherein the pair ofseparation mechanisms has elastic bodies urging the support portionstoward the consumable-item rack.
 5. The automatic analysis deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the support portion and the correctionportion are placed to be adjacent to each other.
 6. The automaticanalysis device according to claim 1, wherein each of the supportportions is capable of moving between a first position in which theconsumable-item rack is able to be supported, and a second position inwhich the consumable item is able to pass through between the supportportions, and when the support portions are in the first position, adistance L between leading ends of the flanges is longer than a distanceL2 between the support portions and also is shorter than a distance L1between the holding portions.
 7. The automatic analysis device accordingto claim 1, wherein each of the support portions is capable of movingbetween a first position in which the consumable-item rack is able to besupported, and a second position in which the consumable item is able topass through between the support portions, and when the support portionsare in the second position, a distance L between leading ends of theflanges is approximately equal to a distance L2 between the supportportions.
 8. The automatic analysis device according to claim 1, whereinthe consumable items is tips, containers or both.